The Bayous Hurricanes swept aside an imposing opponent in the Deep South Boys HS league with a 17-5 defeat of defending regional champions St. Paul’s.

This was a game that had all sorts of bad blood in 2015, but was played in a fine spirit Saturday and a good level of skill.

St. Paul’s scored early to take a 5-0 lead, but that was it for the defending champions, as the Hurricanes scored three tries to win it.

“They came out really fired up,” said Hurricanes Coach Conrad Breit. “We just managed to settle down and run out forwards off both sides of the rucks, and when we had space, we went wide. For us, the tough part was that we weren’t used to having so much trouble scoring. But St. Paul’s defended really well.”

Scrumhalf Hunter Breit zipped over for the first try for Bayou, and converted to nudge his side into the lead.

Lock Andres Arauz powered over to extend that lead, and in the second half wing Demery Reener sealed it with one more try.

St. Paul’s could not get away from penalty trouble, and that unsettled their momentum.

"Both teams fought for every inch of ground,” said St. Paul’s Coach Dr. Donald Hart. “There is no doubt that these two teams will see each other in the championship playoffs."

Breit said that a seat in the playoffs should likely be saved for Jesuit of New Orleans, which hung over 50 on Brother Martin Saturday.

Jesuit is now 2-0, while St. Paul’s slips to 2-1. The Hurricanes lead the Deep South with a 4-0 record.